Miles To Go Before I Sleep
by TwinsWeasley
Summary: The journey of three best friends as they encounter war. They're the three best friends that anybody could have.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**This is an OC fanfic. It is set in the same time as the books.**

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**April 18, 1980**

The hospital was calm. Mr and Mrs Harrison were standing outside the hospital room where their neighbours, the McFerrens were inside. Ernest Harrison was a jolly middle aged man, with jet black hair with streaks of grey. Allison Harrison, who also had black hair, was a plump woman. Plump because she was seven months pregnant. Allison was sitting on a chair, rubbing her hands anxiously.

The Harrisons and The McFerrens had been neighbours for over ten years. They lived in the beautiful city of London. Their lives were peaceful and quiet. Phillip McFerren and Ernest Harrison both worked in a bank. Over the years, the families had gotten to know each other and a beautiful friendship was nurtured.

Just then a loud wail was heard. Allison and Ernest both rushed inside. They were overcome with emotions when they saw a big smile on Phillip's face and a gem of a baby in Carolyn McFerren's arms. Ernest rushed to Phillip's side and hugged him. "She's a girl!" said Carolyn, "Would you like to hold her?", she asked Allison. "Oh yes! Babies are so beautiful. I can't wait to have this one", she pointed to her huge stomach..

"What's her name, Phil?" asked Ernest.

"Well, I wanted to name her Serena, but she", Phil shrugged, "wanted Louise. We had a little argument-".

"But we agreed on both.", Carolyn grinned "Serena Louise McFerren".

Ernest and his wife laughed. They were glad the birthing was proper with no complications.

Phillip was a lean muscular man, in his thirties. He had red hair, while his wife, had black hair. Serena hiccupped in her sleep as the elders looked at her, adoring. Serena was a rosy baby. Small tufts of black hair was seen on the top of her head.

"She's got black hair," Phil observed, "I wish she had red, though. I'm guessing your child is going to have black hair too."

"You think?", laughed Allison and she looked longingly at the child in her arms, "she really is beautiful".

**June 25, 1980**

"It's a boy!"

"What's his name?"

"Christopher!"

**December, 1985**

The park was empty except for two five-year old children.

Chris and Serena were playing on the swings. Both of them were like siblings. They were practically raised together in each other's houses. Serena and Chris were, most of the time, asked if they were siblings. There were so many striking similarities and if one went to chat with them, found a ten more. Being pranksters, they played along, until their parents came and apologized for the inconvenience.

"Wanna see a magic trick?" Serena crooned as she swung higher and higher. Christopher didn't reply, but he watched her curiously as she jumped off at the highest point. Instead of falling down and breaking her bones, she glided down gracefully. And when her feet touched the ground, she did a mock bow. She beckoned him to do the same. Chris' eyes widened. There was no way he could do that! But if he didn't, he would have lost to her. He huffed and kicked his feet off the ground to gain momentum. And just like she had done, he jumped off at the topmost point.

She looked shocked. He was falling, and he'd be wounded if she didn't do anything. _Don't fall. Please don't fall. Please._ She closed her eyes and prayed as hard as she could. When she opened them she saw him standing in front of her, unharmed. He was grinning. "Did you see that?"

"No." she replied. He looked crestfallen. "I was gonna fall but then I was suddenly pushed into the air and I did a bunch of cartwheels! I was awesome!".

"It was me!" Serena said, "I did that! I made you do those cartwheels! I don't know how, but I did that!". Chris smiled, "Really? Thanks! That was fun! Can you do it again?"

"I don't know. It's getting late, we should go home."

**April 18, 1991**

It was a small eleventh birthday, for Serena. It was just the Harrisons from next door. They ate a little cake and were playing games, when a knock on the door was heard.

Carolyn walked to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by an old man, with an atrociously long beard. He was holding a tabby cat in his hands. He politely bowed and entered the house. "Good evening, Mrs. McFerren. May I speak to your husband?". She was too shocked to say anything, so she just nodded and led him inside. "Ah. You must be the Harrisons." he pleasantly smiled at everyone present, not taking any offence at their gaping mouths. "I would like to have a private conversation with the McFerrens, if you don't mind.".

Ernest cautiously glanced at Phillip, who just slowly nodded. Three of them left, leaving Ernest, Carolyn and Serena with the strange old man and his cat, who looked at them with a knowing expression._ I don't like that cat. It looks almost... human, _Carolyn thought, but then shrugged the thought.

"Good evening", the man repeated, "by now, you must be wondering who I am. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of a school called Hogwarts.". Carolyn blinked. She hadn't heard of the school before, and she certainly didn't apply for it. She turned towards her husband, who looked just as bewildered as she was. "We haven't heard of this school", Phil rudely interrupted.

He smiled politely, again, taking no offence. "Well, sir, it is because it is a school for special children. Your child is-".

Carolyn and Phil both stood up. "Are you implying that my child is retarded?", he angrily asked.

"No. I must ask you to sit down. This is spoiling the atmosphere. I assure you, your child is perfectly normal. No. Please let me finish." Dumbledore said, as Phil opened his mouth. "She is a magical child.", he ignored the gaping mouths he got and turned towards Serena, "Have you done anything unusual in the eleven years of your life? Something others could not do?"

Serena was shocked. Not even her parents knew about her special 'magic tricks' she could do. She remembered the incident on the swing with Chris. She had many other instances like that, like stopping a snowball about to fall on her, in mid-air. Chris threw it, she recollected. She stopped her thoughts as she saw the old man still looking at her. She nodded.

"There is nothing exceptional she can do, _Professor._" Phil said, "she is a normal human. Like any other. Except in her studies, which she does exceptionally."

"No." Serena said, "I flew one day. I lifted a car. I stopped a snowball from hitting me. Dad, I'm different!"

"There you go", Dumbledore chuckled, "Your child, is a witch. It is rare that a magical child is born into a muggle family. Muggles are non-magical people. Hogwarts is a very prestigious school. We teach the child magic, as well as, more importantly, how to control it. It is normal for a child to use magic when he or she is young. It is natural. But you must never, ever use magic outside of school. Do you understand?", he asked Serena and she nodded. He then turned to her parents, "You seem to have a hard time believing this. Professor, care to demonstrate?"

All three pairs of eyes shot towards the cat. _Did he just call the cat, Professor?_, they all thought.

The cat just rolled its eyes, as if tired of demonstrating. It jumped and in front of their eyes, it's paws elongated into a human hand. It's arms and legs grew longer and the fur was disappearing into the skin. A fully grown woman stood in the place of the cat. "I am Professor McGonagall. I'm the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and I teach transfiguration to the students. I hope that you now believe that magic really does exist.".

Serena rubbed her eyes to see if what she was seeing was true. This wasn't possible. A cat couldn't turn into a human. But then again, she had achieved the impossible.

"Well then. We normally give every student a sum of two hundred Galleons. But we give muggle-borns, five hundred galleons. Yes sir, we don't use the currency you normally use. Oh my, look at the time. We surely have extended your hospitality. Here" he gave a letter to Serena and pat her head, "this letter has everything you need to buy. You can't buy wands or robes in normal stores, of course. You need to go to Diagon Alley. The map is in the letter."

And just like that, they were gone. Carolyn slumped on the couch. What had just happened was unbelievable. Her daughter was a witch. Magic was real. Cats can turn into humans. _Lord, help me._

**September 1, 1991**

Serena looked at the wall between her. She was standing in between platforms nine and ten. She looked at the letter in her hand. "Walk through the walls" it said. _Walk through the walls, it seems._ How was that even possible. She mentally smacked herself for thinking of 'possibilities'. She needed to learn to expect the unexpected. She looked at her parents. Muggles couldn't enter Platform 9 3/4. She grabbed her trolley, said her goodbyes, and sprinted towards the wall. She braced herself for the impact, but it never came.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing before a giant red train. 'Hogwarts Express' was printed in big bold letters on the train. She gasped. There were so many people around, wearing the robes she was wearing. She looked at a group of red heads who were making too much noise. Serena walked to someone, who looked like a conductor, and asked him where she was supposed to go. He directed her to an empty coach and made sure she was settled. She whispered a shy thanks before he left her.

She was alone in the compartment. The seats were covered with green leather. She felt a sudden jerk. The train had begun moving, and for the first time, she felt home-sick. She missed her parents, even though it had only been a few minutes ago, she was with them. The thought made her even more sad. She thought of how wonderful it would have been, if Chris was there with her.

Just then, a few students entered the compartment and started talking with her. She learnt that there were four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The girls then talked about their families, who had always been in Slytherin, and how great it would be if they were too. Then they asked whom Serena's parents were.

"Uh.. my parents were Muggles." she softly replied. She was actually proud of the fact that she was Muggle-born. It was rare, Dumbledore had told her. But once she had uttered the sentence and girls became angry and left the compartment. One girl muttered something before she left. _I wonder what Mudblood means_, she thought.

Soon the train journey had ended and a giant man was calling out to the "firs' years". She sat in a boat, crossed the lake. She gazed in awe at the magnificent structure in front of her. Hogwarts was huge!

The cat-lady escorted the first years into the Great Hall, where they would be sorted into houses. The Sorting Hat's decision was final, she had said.

She loved the Great Hall. It was huge. She overheard a girl telling her friend that the ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky. She was awe-struck at everything around her. Then the Sorting Hat sang a song, describing the houses of Hogwarts. Then the Professor began calling out the names. She just looked at the children, on whom the sorting hat was placed on. And the Hat sorted them into the houses.

"Harrison, Christopher" McGonagall called out.

She jerked her head upwards. There was no mistaking it. That was Chris! What is he doing here, she thought. The hat was placed on his head and almost immediately shouted out, "RAVENCLAW!". He seemed happy about the choice as he jumped off the chair and ran to the Ravenclaw tables, where a blond boy greeted him with a handshake.

The blond guy looks good, she thought. And spent some time looking at the two. Her name was called.

"McFerren, Serena".

She squealed lightly and walked to the chair. She glanced at her friend. His mouth was agape and he looked absolutely shocked.

The Sorting Hat was placed on her head. _Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw_. She chanted. "RAVENCLAW!", came the booming noise as she giggled slightly and rushed to join her best friend. It was going to be a long talk.

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**Thank you for reading. Let me know if I can improve! Read and review. **


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